Mera's point of view
"Get it, mom. I know how much you have always wanted a Gucci bag." I said.
"I do not need it." She said. I rolled my eyes.
"Mom. You like it. Get it." I said.
"Do you think Ariston will mind?" She asked.
I laughed, if she only knew. I knew Ariston felt what I was feeling when he took me shopping for the first time. I still have the dress he bought me.
"On the contrary; he encourages me to spend as much as I possibly can and buy whatever my heart desires." I told her.
"I see why you love him so much." She said.
"My love for him has nothing to do with his money. I love him for who he is. He is everything I have always wanted and more." I told her. "I do admit that I enjoy the gifts, but what I love even more than the gifts is his joy in giving them to me." I blushed and smiled as I thought about that look he gets. "Get the bag." I told my mother, and then looked at my grandmother. "The same goes for you." She smiled to me and thanked me.
My mother smiled and conceded. I paid at the register and we brought the bags back to the Jeep. From there we went to a little shop and got some cupcakes then went to the park and ate on the grass.
"I still cannot believe that you knew Ariston before I did." I said to my grandmother. She smiled.
"I must admit, I had quite the crush on him." My grandmother replied. "Unlike when he came to recruit you, Ariston did not pose as my teacher. He posed as another student."
"You are kidding." I said in amazement. "Let me guess, he made himself look seventeen?"
"Fifteen, actually." She told me. "Every girl in school wanted a piece of him, yet he spent all his time with me. We grew close, but much to my dismay, it never became romantic. Three months into our friendship, he revealed his true self to me, and offered me a place in the army. At the time, my parents were going through a particularly nasty divorce and I hated being in the house. This was just what I needed. Not only to get away, but to have the chance to do something with my life.
"In my day, the life of a woman was a one track path. Find a man, get married, have children and raise them. That was what was expected of me and of every young woman. Those who chose to walk down a different path were usually put down not only by men, but by women as well. I wanted more than tradition, I wanted a life of meaning. Truth be told, at that time in my life I was not certain I ever wanted to be married or have children." She blushed at this point. "Although, if Ariston had asked, I must admit I would have said yes even in that state of mind.
"I went to Olympus, telling my parents, who were strictly catholic, that I had received a scholarship to an all girls academy in Greece. After a few questions were asked and answered, they gave me permission. They both loved me, they did not want me in the middle of their upset, and so they were glad to send me away to some place where they hoped I would be happy."
"What was it like for you?" I asked.
"It was difficult at first, adjusting to Olympus. There, I was not seen as just a woman, I was seen as an equal, as someone who had the potential to accomplish anything a man could. I loved the freedom I had there. I devoted all of my time to training and studies, but I also developed close friendships with most of my unit, except for your grandfather that is. He would be unrecognizable to you." She smiled as she thought back on it. "To put it simply, Nathan Vandenberg was the biggest asshole I had ever met. He was an infamous womanizer and he had set his sights on me. He was arrogant, insufferable and incredibly cocky. After two years of nothing but failure, he finally gave up on trying to seduce me. After that, we kept our distance from each other. I did not like how I felt around him; it made me uncomfortable and I was not about to let him see it."
"What changed everything?" I asked, thinking over the beautiful relationship I witnessed between them while he lived.
"I saved his life." She told me. "I took a bullet for him, one that lodged in my shoulder, but would have gone through his heart. That changed everything between us, and from then on, he respected me far too much to try and seduce me. We became friends, very good friends." She was lost in thought for a long moment. "Everything irretrievably changed one snowy night in the Olympic National Park. We had been tracking some followers of the Nameless One and Nathan and I got cut off from our unit. It was not a terribly desperate situation. A blizzard began and even with our tracking skills we would not have been able to get back to our unit that night. Gods were only to be called upon during true emergencies; neither of us would risk taking their attention away from someone else in far more dire straights.
"We agreed to find shelter and find our unit when the storm had passed. Little did we know that would be three days later. That night, we found a cave after much fruitless searching and made a fire. We had more than enough equipment to stay warm and enough food to last us a week, or longer if we rationed, which we did just to be safe.
"It was on that last night that everything changed. I had always thought that I would wait for marriage before giving myself to a man… but in that cave with the storm blowing outside, it felt as if we were in a different world, one far beyond right and wrong. He told me he loved me and for some reason I still do not understand, I believed him. The thought never crossed my mind that he might be saying these things to use me, to finally bed me. His eyes, his brown eyes told me all I needed to know.
"We were never apart after that. The next morning we were woken by Sam, a member of our unit. I was embarrassed to say the least that he had found me naked in a mans arms, even though the sleeping bag more than covered us. Sam just kept grinning as he looked between us and said 'it's about time.' Nathan had to throw a boot at him to get him to give us privacy to dress." Grandmother laughed.
"We began dating and two and a half years later he convinced me to marry him. We stayed in the army and I took the seed often, we wanted to wait a while before having children. We were ready when your father came along, we had begun trying only for a few months before I found out I was pregnant with him. That was when we left the army and bought our home here in Pescadero."
"What a life you have lived." I said in amazement, she nodded her agreement.
In that moment I missed my grandfather, his games of "got your nose" and his laughter at all my childish jokes, even when they were not funny. I took a deep breath. What time better than now.
"Mom," I said.
"Yes?" She answered.
"Ariston and I want to get married." I told her with a smile.
"Your father guessed as much." She admitted. "How soon?"
"As soon as we can pull it off, a few months at the most." I told her. She was surprised by that.
"Are you sure you are not rushing things?" She asked.
This was my mother's way. She will never directly say you are wrong, she wants you to see your mistake for yourself, if there is one to be seen.
"I know it may seem that way, but I have never been as sure of anything as I am of him. He is my match." I told her.
"I seem to recall you saying something similar about Aaron." My mother pointed out.
"This is different." I tried to think of a way to explain how I feel for this wondrous god. "This is not a crush or an infatuation; this love that we share is as real and as deep as it gets. I cannot even begin to tell you of how I love him, how the very sight of him makes my heart sing, how his touch makes me feel." I shook my head with a breathless smile, the kind that always finds its way to my lips when I think of Ariston.
"Each and every day I love him more and more," I told her. "Every moment with him is golden and a moment away from him is almost to much to bare. He brings my life love, meaning, beauty and joy, as well as such passion. I feel vibrant and alive in a way I never knew I could when I am with him. It is a truth deep within my soul and his that we could never love anyone else the way we love each other."
I looked at my mother with such a smile and such love and joy flowing through me that I felt I was flying. I felt so weightless at the very thought of Ariston that I almost laughed.
"This man, this god, has by some divine miracle fallen in love with me, and wants me to be his for the rest of forever." I told her. "I love Ariston with a fire and a passion and a grace that not even the greatest poets could hope to name, and I want to be his wife more than I have ever wanted anything in my life." I always get caught up when I speak of him and say each word with passion and conviction.
My mother was silent for a moment as she took my words in, there was such a look on her face. It was joy.
"I have always said you should be a writer." My mother said and I laughed. "If this is what you truly want, then I cannot say no. It brings my heart such joy to see how happy this man makes you, and even though I wish you would wait until you were older, I give you my permission and my blessing."
Excitement and joy flooded through me and I threw my arms around my mother and hugged, all the while being careful not to harm her with my increased strength.
"Thank you mom." I said. I looked to my grandmother with a raised eyebrow.
"You are marrying a god with a great soul. What objections would I have?" She asked with a smile. "I am happy you both found each other." I hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"Thank you grandmother." I said. "Come on, let's go to a few more shops before we go back home." Goodness, I am starting to sound like Margret. I had to laugh at the thought.
We came back from shopping an hour before dark, the jeep was packed, my grandmother and I even had bags in our laps and around our legs. We took handfuls of bags inside. I could smell the scent of roses when I entered the house. My father was sitting in his chair reading. He put the book down and greeted us, helping us with the bags.
"Where is Ariston?" I asked my father.
"He left to prepare for your date." My father said. I went to ask him about his answer, but he put his hand up. "Don't ask. I swore to him that I would not tell you my answer." I nodded. "Are you certain about this? About him?" My father asked, his eyes searching mine for some kind of doubt, but there was none within me.
"Yes." I said with a smile. "The love I have for him is not the kind that will fade. I love him, not even death could change that, and I want to be with him. Always." My father sighed and nodded, a faint smile appearing.
"You chose a good one." My father said. His simple words meant so much to me. I smiled and kissed his cheek.
"I know. Thank you." I told him.
My mother helped me carry some of my bags up to my room; the scent of roses growing stronger with each step/ I smiled and shook my head, already guessing what Ariston had done. I opened the door to my room and sure enough it was filled with red roses. On the bed was a big blue box. I heard my mothers gasp and I laughed.
I put down the bags and opened the box; inside was red silk and lace embroidered with gold beads here and there and black designer shoes encrusted with diamonds. The necklace, earrings and bracelet were all made of white diamonds and pearls cast in Gold. I pulled the gown out of the box; it was stunning of course.
"Well, he certainly knows how to treat a girl." My mother said.
"He did the same thing for our first date." I said.
It felt almost as if my life entire life had been building up to tonight. I knew that it would be a night to remember, but then again every night with him is a night to remember.
Once we had the bags in my room, I laid on my bed and stared up at the celling. Once again, everything was about to change in my life and truth be told I could not wait for this change, for my life to move forward in this direction. I felt a few jitters, but not the "we should not be doing this" kind, they were the "I cannot wait for tonight" kind. It was pure excitement.
I love you, my Ariston, I thought to him.
I love you, my Mera, he thought to me so tenderly. I will pick you up in an hour.
Until then, my love, I thought to him.
I took a shower and dried off, or attempted to at least. I had been using cloud silk towels for so long that it felt as if the cotton towels barely dried me. My hair was still wet when I went back into my room.
"Tianna?" I called.
She appeared a moment later with a smile and curtsied. I smiled in greeting.
"My lady." She said with a bow of her head.
"Could you bring me a cloud silk towel? Cotton just does not do it." I asked, she nodded.
A towel appeared in her hands and she handed it over. I dried off completely with that.
"I will be wearing that red dress tonight." I told her.
She nodded and unzipped the dress then helped me into it and helped me into my shoes and jewelry as well. I sat down at my little dressing table with the mirror, it was much smaller than the grand one in my dressing room home on Olympus, but we made do.
"How would you like your hair my lady?" Tianna asked.
"Pinned partly back with diamond pins with most of it down." I told her and she began running a brush though my hair. "What do you do when you are not helping me?" I asked her.
"I spend my days on the rages of Mt. Parnassus with my sisters, running though the woods and climbing trees as we tend to nature." She said with a smile.
"How many sisters do you have?" I asked.
"All nymphs are my sisters, my lady." She said.
"Do you enjoy your life?" I asked. She smiled.
"Very much so. I get to live in nature and the best part is that I am free; I was not always so." Tianna said.
"How do you mean? If you do not mind my asking." I asked her.
"Long ago I was a mortal. When I was fifteen my parents married me off to an awful man. I was a trophy to him, he used me as he pleased and kept me locked away in a room with only a small window at all times. Every night after he left me and locked the door, I would stare out at the moon and wonder what else was out there. It was the only life I had ever known, and I was raised to be obedient so I thought there was nothing I could or should do about the way I was treated." She slid some diamond pins into my hair as she spoke.
"One night," She went on. "As I was looking out that tiny barred window, Prince Apollo happened to be taking a stroll and he saw me. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He came into my room in a way I did not know was possible and saw the way I was being forced to live. He was appalled. He asked me if I wanted another life, and I asked what other kind of life could there be? He held his hand out to me and brought me out and showed me the wonders of the world and his mountain Parnassus. I was charmed by him to say the least. For years we traveled the world together, until finally returning to his mountain. We ended up making love there under the stars on that night.
"It was the first time I had ever been loved by a man. With my former husband, he simply took what he wanted in any way he wanted then left me to my tears. With Apollo… he seemed to care more about pleasing me then pleasing himself." A rosy blush covered her cheeks. "After that night I knew I could not return to my husband, to the life I had led. Apollo gave me a place with the nymphs and came to visit me often.
"Before he married, Apollo took a different approach to relationships than most gods. Apollo would find a woman that brought about his interest and see where it takes them. The relationship could last for a night or a hundred years. Then when their feelings have cooled, he and his lover part as friends." She smiled.
"I became with child from that first night. The prince and I were together for a great number of years. Even though we did not marry, he was there for me and our daughter. He raised her well. I had never known a man could be as kind and warm and loving as he was. My own father was not much better than the man he married me off to. When I passed of old age, Apollo made me into one of his nymphs. The love of a god is a powerful thing. This was of course before he married his Cassandra." She added. I was amazed by the story.
"What of your daughter?" I asked her. Tianna's smile grew.
"She is a nymph as well, or was I should say. She married one of the Princess Ennina's great grandson's and is now an immortal." Tianna told me with the greatest pride and joy on her face.
"I am glad your story has had a happy ending." I said, meaning it.
"As am I, my lady." She said with a smile. "As am I." I heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." I called out. The door opened and my mother came in.
"Oh, hello." My mother said to Tianna, she was clearly surprised to see her.
"Mom, this is my lady in waiting, Tianna. Tianna this is my mother, Anne." I introduced them.
"It is an honor." Tianna said with a bow of her head to my mother.
"It is very nice to meet you as well, Tianna." My mother replied as she sat on my bed. "I was coming to see if you needed help to get ready, but I see you already have that taken care of. You look beautiful."
"Thank you. Ariston has always had great taste." I said.
"Of course he does; he chose you." My mother said and I laughed.
"There you are, my lady." Tianna said as she put the last piece of hair into place with a diamond pin.
"Thank you; you many go." I told her.
She bowed her head and disappeared in rose-colored light, my mother had a look of shock on her face.
"You get used to that." I told her.
"Are those diamonds?" My mother pointed to my hair.
"They are." I said with a smile.
I got up and looked in my full-length mirror. The dress was perfect of course. The straps were made of gathered red silk chiffon and the bust was of red lace with a deep V-neck. The lace continued to a scalped edge below a few inches below my bust. The skirt was of the dress flowed down softy in red cloud silk/satin with a slit that went up to my mid thigh, it showed the gold silk lining inside and at the top of the slit were a few delicate red silk flowers with little gold beads in their center. The gown was stunning as all my gowns are. I smiled to myself in the mirror.
"Are you nervous?" My mother asked. I turned to her with a smile.
"No, just excited. I can hardly wait to see the ring." I told her. She got up from the bed and hugged me.
"I am so proud of you, and not just for doing you part in helping the world." My mother said to me. "Your father and I are so very proud of who you are."
"All I am, I am because of you and dad." I told her with all my heart. "I love you both and I am so grateful for everything that you have done for me. I hope you know that." She nodded with tears in her eyes and kissed my cheek.
"I love you too, honey." She said. I felt him arrive and my smile grew.
"Ariston is here." I said.
I exited my room and noticed a trail of pink rose petals that ran to the stairs. I smiled and followed them down the hall. Ariston was at the bottom of the stairs dressing in a black suit with a white shirt, red tie and ruby cufflinks. He looked amazing. He looked at me in complete awe and unconditional love.
"I never get tired of that look." I said as I descended the stairs gracefully.
Ariston laughed once. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Ariston took my hand and placed a kiss on it.
"You look breathtaking." He said. I smiled, grateful to be able to feel what he feels.
"Thank you, my love." I said to him.
I turned and found that my father was standing there next to my mother. I had not noticed him standing there.
"You look so beautiful and… grown up." My father said to me.
"That is because I am." I told him and kissed his cheek. "I love you, dad."
"I love you, Mera." He replied.
"Are you ready?" Ariston asked. I smiled to him and nodded.
"We will return tomorrow." I told my parents.
I went to Ariston and he took me into his arms as he became glowing golden light. I looked around in wonder when we arrived. The night was lit by candles and the stars were bright above us. Huge vases filled with red and gold roses along with white rose petals lined a walk way to a small marble table set with gold plates, napkins of the same gold embroidered with dark red scroll work and crystal silverware with gold cups. Wine was being chilled in an adamantine bucket on stilts near the table. Beyond the table, a few hundred feet from us, a full orchestra played soft, romantic music.
I shook my head in amazement and looked to Ariston, no words were necessary so I pressed my lips to his. Ariston led me to the table and held my chair out for me as always.
"Wine?" He asked as he took his seat.
"Yes, thank you." I said.
He poured us both a glass and I took a sip, it had hints of strawberry within it. The dinner was stake with all the fixings.
"How was your day?" Ariston asked as we ate.
"It was wonderful! My mother and grandmother are on our side." I told him. He smiled. There was something in his smile and such joy within him.
"What," I began to ask about my father when Ariston cut me off.
"After dinner." He said with that crooked smile of his, I nodded.
The sun was just rising as Ariston and I finished dinner. He rose and held his hand out for me.
"Will my lady honor me with a dance or two?" He asked. I smiled and almost laughed.
"Of course, my prince." I said as I took his hand.
He led me to the dance floor and held me close as we danced cheek to cheek. As much as I wanted to see the ring and hear the words he would speak, I was more than happy to stay in this moment with him, his scent surrounding me, his warmth melting into my being as we danced to the music that floated softly around us.
We only danced a few dances before he let me go and came behind me, placing his warm hands over my eyes and guided me forward.
"Another surprise?" I asked.
"You know you enjoy them." He said softly. I laughed, knowing he was right.
When we stopped walking he removed his hands and I gasped, my hand flying to my heart. The ground was covered with red and pink rose petals and over a stone banister was an extraordinary view of the mountain of Olympus. Far below us the sun was rising over the Aegean sea, lighting the waters and the sky in beautiful colors. Far off to my left and right the clouds were lit underneath with the colors of the morning sun. Everything seemed alive with the beautiful glow of morning.
Candles burned around the place Ariston and I stood as well as thousands of red roses in vases. After I had taken it all in in wonder, I looked back to Ariston, he took my hand in his and looked at me with wonder.
"Do you know how much I love you?" Ariston asked softly as he looked into my eyes.
"I think I have an idea." I told him with a smile, and his smile grew. Here he goes again, taking my breath away by putting into words how much he loves me.
"I was never committed to this life before you." Ariston began. "I was born a Demigod and when my vessel died, I was freed and joined the ranks of the gods. A few thousand years later I married Elianna and wanted nothing more than a mortal life with her. When she passed… then my sons, I hated what I was. I loathed my immortality because I could not die with them. Your lips and your love baptized me anew. Because of you, I not only accept my past, but I look forward to the future, to each and every day and moment of the rest of forever that I will spend with you." I smiled with tears in my eyes, moved by the truth of his beautiful words.
"My Mera, my love," He said, looking into my eyes with such a smile as he caressed my cheek with his free hand. "Your father said yes to my suit, and so I must ask you,"
Ariston got down on one knee and I realized in that moment that he was holding my left hand. My eyes were watery, a open golden box embedded with gems on the sides appeared in his other hand. I was speechless as I looked at the ring inside, my eyes as wide as saucers.
The way the brilliant colors sparkled from the countless facets of the diamonds in the light of the rising sun, was truly something to behold. A lilac colored marquise diamond that looked to be about 20ct sat in the center, the diamond was surrounded by little pear and oval shaped diamonds, some of which were white while others were dark pink. The blue gold casting lined each gem with extraordinary detail. The ring was perfect and unique, of course Ariston would not give me something everyone else has.
"Mera Anne Vandenberg," Ariston said, using my full name. I looked into his ancient sky blue eyes. "I pledge to you that I will love you, honor you and care for you for the rest of eternity, and hopefully beyond that. Will you make me the happiest and most blessed god in existence and become my wife?"
I was speechless, my heart and soul filled with such love, wonder and euphoria. I parted my lips but could give voice to no words, no words except for one that is.
"Yes." I breathed the answer he already knew.
Ariston's smile, his very soul was triumphant! The diamond floated out of the box and the box disappeared. Ariston took the ring and slid it into place on the ring finger of my left hand, as tears of pure joy rolled down my cheeks at the feeling. The ring was a perfect fit. I looked into his sky blue, euphoric eyes and as he rose to his feet I leapt into his arms and kissed him deeply.
"Yes, yes, yes, a million times with all my soul yes, I will marry you my Ariston!" I said the words with all my soul, with all the joy and love I felt.
Ariston laughed and spun me around as he kissed me again. The euphoria and love we shared in that moment was indescribable, unparalleled. We were on cloud nine, and not coming down any time soon. Ariston surpassed a thousand fold everything I thought tonight might be. It is real, this all is real. I could not say if we had stopped spinning as I looked into his joy filled sky blue eyes.
"Thank you." He said, his voice deep with meaning and joy, his eyes watery.
"I love you." I told him with a huge smile.
"I love you." He replied with a smile that matched mine.
He brought his lips to mine and kissed me with such passion and enthusiasm that it left me breathless. We clutched onto each other and the next thing I knew we were in our bedroom. We made quick work of our clothing and Ariston picked me up in his arms and carried me to our bed, kissing me the whole way before laying me down on the silk with his body on top of mine…
